5 po Charles II, Naval Expeditions , &c of the English, Book 1$

i 667. Man of War and four Fire-ships towards ral Olfers of landing, as first at It r enbury, 1 6&Tthe English ; But with bad Success; For in Devon/hire, and then near Cowland, inthe foremost of their Fire-ships, feing Cornwal, at Length, when they couldthe English ready with their Ketches to dissemble the Knowledge of the Peacecut off their Long-boats, forsook the no longer, De Ruyter invited some ofVessel,which was presently seized. And the Cornijh Gentlemen on Board him,the other three Fire-ships, fearing to in- gave them liberal a Entertainment,cur the fame Fate, burnt themselves; and excusing some of his latter Acts ofWhich when the Dutch Man of War Hostility, he difmils’d them civilly, andsaw, she retir’d and joined the Fleet, then, with his Fleet, made Sail to theirThe Englijh Admiral then bore up with own Coasts, (j)his own Ship to the whole Fleet of theEnemy, and sent off a Fire-ship, which

got up very near one of the Enemy’s Transactions in America during thislargest Men of War, being stoutly fe- fFar.

conded by our Man of War : But being

galled by the Shot of the whole Fleet, Having given my Readers an Ac-they thought it convenient to come count of what pass’d during this War,off. (r) in Europe, it will be Time now to look

The Dutch The Englijh now thought it most pro- abroad, and fee what happened, in thatattack Sir per to withdraw to Gravesend, and leave Time, in remoter Parts.

Spragge in the Enemy at Anchor in the Hope-, But In the Wejl-Jndies, the Englijh tookthe Hope. the next Day they, with the Help of the Islands of St. Eujlace, Salia, St.

their Fire-ships, attack’d the Dutch , in Martin, Bonaira, the Island of Tobago ,their Turn, and after a sharp Dispute, and other Places from the Dutch. Onin which they themselves set Fire to the the contrary, the Dutch , under theonly Fire-ship they had left, to prevent Conduct of the Zealand Commodore,her being taken, obliged them to retreat. Kruysen, made themselves Masters ofThey then failed down the Channel to Surinam: And the French, assisted bythe Western Coasts (after having been the Dutch, almost (t) deprived the En-attack’d again at the Mouth of the Ri- glijh of half the Island of St. Christophers,ver and suffered some Damage,) and after several obstinate Disputes, and thehaving alarmed the Country, with seve- Death of their Commander, Les Salles .

Six

(r) Dutch Writers differ pretty much from called Het Raedt-huis -van Haerlem, which was

ours in their Account of this Day’s Action. They going with some others to rejoin their Fleet,will not allow that they lost any Ships but Fire- Among others, a gallant Action of Cap t.Dawesships, of which they own they spent eleven, and must not be omitted. This brave Officer, whothe Englijh, as they fay, eight; And of Course commanded the Elizabeth- Frigat, meeting withthey allow us the Advantage. fifteen Sail of Rotterdam Men of War, sought

(s) Rap in, to avoid mentioning this Perfidi- with their Rear-Admiral, of fixty-sour Guns, andoufness of th e Dutch, as prolix as he is some- five others,ol eight and forty and fifty Guns, and,times in other Things, of less Moment, sums up presently after,with the Admiral, of seventyGuns,these Transactions in a few Lines. " After this and two of his Seconds; Yet got clear of them“ Action (fe. in the Medway) De Ruyter (fays all, forcing the Enemy to ly by the Lee.

" he) set Sail for Portsmouth, where he attempt- Not long after, the fame Frigat engaged with“ ed to burn the Ships in the Harbour : But find- two Danijh Men of War, of forty Guns each, in“ ing that impracticable, he failed to the West, which Action, after four Hours Fight, the brave" and took scime Ships in Torbay. They then Captain Dames was slain with a Cannon-ball ; But“ steered Eastward, beat the Englijh before Har- was heard with his last Breath to cry; For God’s« u>ich, and gave Chafe to a Squadron command- Sake do not yield the Frigat to these Fellows. Soon“ ed by Sir Edward Spragge, who was obliged to after, the Lieutenant being desperately wounded,

" retire up the Thames. In a Word, he kept and the Master who succeeded him slain, theGun-" the Coasts of England in continual Alarms the ner took Place, who so plied the two Danes, that" whole Month of July, ’till he received the they were glad to steer to their own Coast. The“ News of the Conclusion of a Peace.” ( But to English anchored within a Mile of them all Nighthe sure no longer J t0 repairDamages. The next Morning, they ex-

While the Dutch loitered before the River, pected the Danes again ; But tho’ they were toand at Torbay, without effecting any Thing re- the Windward, and had the Advantage of the

markable, the Englijh found Means by their Current, yet they would not venture ; Upon

Golumna p^y-ateers, and a Squadron of Frigats, command- which, th eEngljjh, after having saluted them with

Rostrata. ec j D y Sir Jeremy Smith, in the North-Sea, abun- a Shot of Defiance, bore away for England. still'

dantly to repair the Damage sustained a t Chatham, (t) Larrey, who fixes this Action to the roth t ar ref ki-by taking great Numbers of their Merchant-ships, of April, 1666. fays, the French entirely depriv- J FrJf x C,

bound from the Baltick and Norway? as also from ed the English of their Half. It was, however? Louis ^and to France? Spain? Portugal? and the Streights: restored by the ensuing Parliament,

And some Englijh Frigats took a Man of War,